Garment having set-in inverted box pleat structure



Aug. 9, 1960 GARMENT HAVING SET-IN INVERTED BOX PLEAT STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 8, 1957 Fig. I

E. DONATH 3 Sheets-Sheet l 1 3iw:i f S2 I7 3a 28 /20 3 j 40 ,7 e ,a 5u

Fig.3

INVENTOR. ERNEST DONATH KENWAY JEHNEY, WITTER & HILDREJH ATTORNEYS Aug. 9, 1960 E. DONATH 2,947,993

GARMENT HAVING SET-IN INVERTED BOX PLEAT STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 8, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 4 Fig. 5

I I I I l l Fig.6 5 l INVENTOR.

ERN EST DONATH KENWAY, JENNEY WITTER & HILDRETH ATTO R N EYIS 9, 1960 E. DQNATH 2,947,993

GARMENT HAVING SET-IN INVERTED BOX PLEAT STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 8, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 7

Fig.8

INVENI'OR. ERNEST DONATH BY KENWAY JENNEY WlTTER s. HILDRETH ATTORNEYS United States Pateti't O cc GARMENT HAVING SET-IN INVERTED BOX PLEAT STRUCTURE This invention relates to a pleated article of wearing apparel, particularly a skirt or the like, and the principal 7 object of the invention is to provide a novel and attractive pleat.

Further objects will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a face view of the superposed elements constituting the central part of a pleat section;

Fig. 2 is a face view of the elements constituting the end portions of the pleat section superposed on the elements of the central pleat;

Fig. 3 is a face view of the parts shown in Fig. 2 stitched together before being pleated;

Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the central'elements pleated and tacked together at their upper ends, the parts being interposed between the marginal portions of the skirt panel to which the pleated elements are to be attached;

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the right hand part of Fig. 4 folded on the center line of the pleat section preparatory to stitching the two sections of the panel together;

Fig. 6 is a rear view of the constituent elements after being stitched together and positioned for attachment to the inner section of the skirt panel;

Fig. 7 is a rear view, similar to Fig. 6, but showing the pleated elements stitched to the panel sections; and

Fig. 8 is a face view showing the finished pleat.

In accordance with the present invention I provide a novel pleat, hereinafter described, one or more of which may be formed or incorporated in an article of wearing apparel such as a womans skirt, dress or jacket. If, for example, the pleat is to be formed in a skirt, it may be located at the front and/or the rear and/or both sides and extend downwardly from approximately midway between the waistband and the lower edge of the skirt. In any event the number and arrangement of such pleats will depend upon the style and desired fullness of the skirt.

The pleat comprises a panel section which may be an integral part of a skirt or other article of wearing apparel, and a pleat section, which may be a single piece of textile material or pieced-together parts. The pleats are formed in the pleat section either before or after attaching to the panel section. In the preferred pleat and method of making it the panel section is formed from two identical parts and the pleat section is formed from several parts appropriately cut to shape and stitched together in the manner presently to be described.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the pleat section 1 comprises a pair of central portions 2 and 3 and end portions 4 and 5, the central portions being stitched together to form a seam 6 (Fig. l) which defines the center line of the pleat section and the end portions 4 and 5 are stitched to the central portions 2 and 3 by seams 7 and 8 (Fig. 2). The seams 6, 7 and 8 permit the pleat section to be formed from several smaller portions of mate- I 2,947,993 Patented Aug. 9, 1960 rial rather than a single large piece with a consequent saving of material. More important, however, these seams which are parallel to the fold lines. in the finished pleat cause the pleat section to tend to hang neatly, thus insuring the return of the pleat section to its folded position if it is extended during wear. For this purpose the central portions 2 and 3 and side portions 4 and 5 should include a fairly generous seam allowance. Before being stitched together the inner or upper edges 11-14 of the central portions are cut to define a W-shaped contour and the inner. edges 15 and 16 of the outer portions and the adjacent edges of the central portions are cut to define an inwardly tilted L-shaped contour adjoining the outer edge of the W-shaped contour, as shown in Fig. 3.

The panel section 20 (Figs. 4 to 6) comprises two identical parts21 and 22 which are cut to provide spaced parallel longitudinal edges 23 and 24 extending from the lower end of the skirt upwardly to approximately midway between the waistband and the lower end, and the inner ends of these edges converge, as indicated by the numerals 25 and 26 (Fig. 5), to form an inverted V-shaped contour. The distance from the re-entrant parts of the L-shaped contours (points 28 and 30 in Figs. 3 and 6) to the lower edge of the section should be equal to the length of each of the edges 23 and 24 of the panel section and the length of the inner legs 16 and 18 should be equal to the length of each of the legs of the inverted V-shaped edge of the panel section.

After having prepared the two sections as above described, the central portions 2 and 3 are pleated. Pleating is accomplished by folding the left-hand portion of the panel over along the fold line 2a and back along the fold line 2b and similarly along the fold lines 3a and 3b to form the central pleated portion shown in Fig. 4. This pleating forms two expansible portions on each side of the center seam 6, the expansible portions on the left side of the seam 6 as seen in Fig. 4 being designated by the reference numerals 50 and 52, while those on the right side of the seam 6 are designated by the numerals 54 and 56. The two parts of the panel section are then superposed on the plea-t section as shown in Fig. 4. The margins of the outer portions 4 andS are then stitched to the panel section inwardly of the edges 23 and 24 by seams 33 and 34, after which the parts 5 and 22 are folded about the center seam 6 so as to overlay the parts 4 and 21, as shown in Fig. 5. The parts of the panel section are then stitched together by a seam 35 (Fig. 5) which terminates inwardly of the apex of the inverted V-shaped end so as to provide stitching allowances 38 and 40 (Figs. 6 and 7).

The assemblage is then reversed and the outer parts 4 and 5 are pleated by folding along parallel lines 411 and 5a extending from the points 28 and 30 to the lower edge of the section, as shown in Fig. '6. This additional pleating forms two more expansible portions 58 and 60 lying on each side of the center seam 6 and under the edges 23 and 24 of the panel section. Thus, three expansible portions are formed on each side of the center seam 6, one of which lies under the edges of the recess formed in the garment. The W- and L-shaped inner ends of the pleated section are then positioned so as to overlie the margins of the inverted V-shaped portion of the panel section and are secured thereto by rows of stitching 42 and 43, as shown in Fig. 7.

The pleated assemblage is then reversed and decorative stitching 44 and 45 may be applied, as shown in Fig. 8, after which the skirt may be pressed or otherwise appropriately finished in accordance with conventional dressmaking practice.

While I have shown and described one desirable embodiment of the invention it is to be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

' I claimz V 1. A garment having a box pleat, said garment including a panel having a recess formed therein defined by spaced parallel edges which extend to one edge of said garment, said pleat being formed by a pleat section having a plurality of pleated portions, said pleat section including a center seam joining two central portions and two parallel side seams symmetrically disposed with respect to said center seam joining end portions to said central portions, said pleat section being folded along fold lines parallel to said seams to provide at least six expansible portions, three of said expansible portions lying on each side of said center seam, said side seams not lying on any of said fold lines, means attaching said pleat section to said garment along the parallel edges of said recess with said seams and said fold lines parallel to said edges,

, v4 and with those expansible portions of said pleat section outermost from said center seam lying behind the "portion of said garment adjacent the parallel edges of said.

recess.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 in which said central portions are folded to form two of said expansible portions, and said endportions, are folded to form a single expansible portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,080,814 Foltz May 18, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 13,853 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1908 V OTHER REFERENCES Good Housekeeping Needlecraft Encyclopedia, Alice 20 Carroll, Rinehart and .Co., Inc., New York, 1947, p. '36. 

